


close to craziness, close to you

by givebackmylifecas



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Asexual Character, Established Relationship, Happy Ending, M/M, Mild Angst, Presents, Stalking, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:27:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29448504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/givebackmylifecas/pseuds/givebackmylifecas
Summary: “Sonny, I didn’t get you this. Or any of it. I mean, I got you something for Valentine’s Day, but it’s still a couple of days away so… What the hell is all this?” Rafael demands.Sonny gapes. “I… this isn’t from you? None of it?”Rafael shakes his head vehemently. “No! Did any of it say that it was from me?”“Well… no,” Sonny admits. “The notes weren’t signed though, so who else would I have expected it to be from?”A twist on the idea of Sonny getting gifts from a secret admirer for Valentine's Day
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 48
Collections: Barisi Valentine’s Cliché Challenge





	close to craziness, close to you

**Author's Note:**

> For the Barisi Archive Valentine's Day challenge, prompt 2 "You got me a teddy bear?"
> 
> TWs: mentions of serial killers, implied stalking, implied/attempted non-consensual surveillance
> 
> fic title from the song 'the closest thing to crazy' by katie melua

“The hell are you in such a good mood for?” Amanda demands when Sonny walks into the bullpen, a wide smile on his face and a pastry box in his hand.

Sonny shrugs, taking off his coat and hanging it over the back of his chair. “Do I need a reason?”

Amanda narrows her eyes. “I guess not. What’s in the box?”

“Cannoli,” Sonny says, flushing. “Rafi got them for me.”

He ignores the way Amanda repeats ‘Rafi’ under her breath and opens the box, offering her a pastry. Mike, who has an uncanny ability to appear whenever there’s food involved, comes out of Liv’s office and smiles at Sonny.

“Those from Barba?” he asks and Sonny nods. “He’s starting Valentine’s celebrations early, isn’t he? I never took him for the sort.”

Sonny frowns. “Nah, these were just because. Valentine’s Day isn’t for another few days anyway.”

Mike laughs. “I don’t mean the cannoli, I mean the flower.”

He points at Sonny’s desk and Sonny spins, grinning when he sees a single rose lying there.

“Huh, I guess Rafi did start early,” he says and Mike shakes his head.

“How you’re dating the most unapproachable DA in Manhattan and end up making him sound like Prince Charming, I’ll never know,” Mike says, shaking his head.

“Don’t let Barba hear you talking about him like that,” Liv says from behind them.

Mike pulls a face at the thought and Sonny laughs.

“Come on guys, he’s not that scary.”

“Oh no,” Amanda says. “He definitely is. But it’s cute that you don’t see that anymore.”

Sonny rolls his eyes good-naturedly and sits down at his desk, examining the flower. It’s a red rose, perfectly in bloom, with a silk ribbon tied in a bow around it, attaching a note. It doesn’t have much written on it, just his name, spelled out in loopy calligraphy.

Sonny smiles at the rose, imagining Rafael arranging to have it delivered, and carefully puts it in the mug that he keeps his pens in.

-

He doesn’t get to see Rafael during work or even after – they catch a case that has Liv asking Sonny to stay overnight in the hospital with the vic – so Sonny has to make do with a quick text to Rafael letting him know, and receiving a ‘be safe’ and a string of hearts in return.

But when he gets back to the precinct on Thursday morning, there’s a box waiting for him on his desk. It’s small, covered in sleek black silk, and looks far, far too nice to be for him.

“Who is that from?” he asks Amanda with a yawn.

She shrugs. “I don’t know, it was here when I got here.”

Sonny frowns and sits down to examine it further. Once again, there’s no card with it, just a note with his name in the same careful calligraphy as the one that came with the rose that’s still in his pen cup.

“Got you some coffee,” Amanda says, handing him a takeaway cup and perching on the edge of his desk. “So are you gonna open that?”

Sonny nods, but downs half the coffee before he does. He picks up the box and carefully opens it, gasping when he sees what’s inside. The tie is made of perfect, cerulean blue silk, with the initials, DCJ embroidered in tiny lettering only a few shades darker than the tie itself.

“Damn,” Amanda says. “You’ve got yourself a sugar daddy because that thing cost a lot.”

“It’s not about the money,” Sonny says, but he can’t help smiling, thinking of Rafael picking out the tie and commissioning the embroidery.

Amanda grins. “You’ve got it bad for Barba, huh?”

Sonny nods. “Yeah, but not cause of the gifts. Just because of him.”

“Well, good for you,” she says, smirking at him. “The gifts don’t hurt though, huh?”

“Shut up,” Sonny laughs. “They’re thoughtful, okay? He’s thoughtful.”

“Sure,” Amanda says teasingly and laughs when Sonny flips her off.

-

Rafael is asleep by the time Sonny gets home, curled up with one hand shoved under his memory foam pillow and the other stretched out across half of the mattress where Sonny usually sleeps. Sonny smiles at him as he quietly sheds his suit and pulls on a t-shirt and sweats to sleep in.

His boyfriend stirs when Sonny slides into bed next to him, blinking open sleep heavy eyes.

“You’re late, soleado,” Rafael mumbles, reaching for Sonny.

Sonny crawls into his arms, face finding the space between Rafael’s neck and shoulder. “Sorry, baby. It was a hard case.”

Rafael strokes soft fingers through his hair. “S’okay, you’re home now.”

“Yeah,” Sonny sighs. “And thank you.”

“Thank you for what?” Rafael asks, but Sonny is asleep before he can reply.

-

Sonny wakes briefly when Rafael’s alarm goes off the next morning, but he’s asleep again by the time the shower turns on. He wakes again to Rafael pressing kisses to his forehead and cheeks, one hand cupping Sonny’s face.

“Morning,” Rafael says when Sonny blinks awake.

Sonny can’t help the ridiculously soft smile that spreads across his face when he sees Rafael hovering over him, hair shower damp and shirt still unbuttoned. “Hey, baby,” he whispers softly.

Rafael leans in for a proper kiss, then sits back, starting to button his shirt as Sonny rubs his hands up and around Rafael’s waist.

“You heading off?” Sonny asks and Rafael nods.

“Yeah I have to be in the office early to look over some stuff before court, but I’ll come by the precinct this afternoon,” Rafael promises, climbing off the bed to Sonny’s dismay.

Sonny smirks, thinking of what present might be waiting for him if Rafael comes to the precinct today. “Oh yeah? Any particular reason?”

“Seeing you isn’t reason enough?” Rafael asks, shrugging into his waistcoat.

Sonny laughs. “You’re a flirt and a liar, Rafi. No one would ever believe it if I told them, counselor.”

Rafael grins, shaking his head. “Funny, detective. I do have a meeting with Liv, but if that means I get to have lunch with you, then so much the better.”

“Well, I suppose that’s true,” Sonny says, his smile softening.

He climbs out of bed to knot Rafael’s tie while his boyfriend puts on his jacket.

“I’ll see you later then, mi amor,” Rafael says when he’s fully dressed. “I’ll bring us lunch, alright?”

“Alright,” Sonny says, reeling him in for a kiss. “See you later, good luck in court, baby.”

Rafael smirks. “I don’t need luck, but thank you. I left coffee in the pot for you,” he says as he leaves the room.

“You’re the love of my goddamn life, Rafi,” Sonny calls after him.

The words come out light-hearted and teasing, but Sonny means them and he knows Rafael knows that too. He gets some of the coffee Rafael thoughtfully left for him and then flops back into bed, allowing himself a few moments of lazy scrolling on his phone before he gets ready for work.

He eventually forces himself out of bed and dresses, remembering his new tie only when he passes it in the living room on his way to get more coffee. He proudly ties it around his neck, imagining Rafael’s face when he sees him wearing it later.

-

There’s definitely a spring in his step when he walks into the bullpen again and both Amanda and Finn roll their eyes, though Amanda manages a saucy smirk.

“Did you manage to thank Barba properly for the tie then?” she asks.

Sonny sighs as he sits down and exchanges a long-suffering look with Mike. “Amanda, you know it’s not like that.”

“Yeah, Rollins, do I need to drop more ace pamphlets on your desk?” Mike asks and Amanda holds up her hands.

“Hey, I was joking. You know that, right Carisi?”

“Right,” Sonny nods. “So, what are we working on today?”

“Paperwork,” Liv announces from behind him, and the squad groans. “And uh, Carisi?”

Sonny spins in his chair to look at her. “What’s up, lieu?”

Liv looks really hard like she’s trying not to laugh. “There’s uh, there’s something in the breakroom for you. It didn’t fit on your desk.”

“What?” Sonny frowns. “What is it?”

“Go see for yourself.”

Sonny gets up, with Mike and Fin following him. Amanda hurries after them, a wide grin on her face like Christmas has come early. He walks into the breakroom and stops dead. There, on one of the tables, is a huge, white teddy bear.

“Holy shit,” Amanda says, phone already in hand to take a picture.

“What the hell?” Sonny asks.

Mike shakes his head incredulously, then gasps. “Sonny, look at the wrist. The bear’s wrist!”

Sonny steps forward and sees what Mike had been pointing at. The bear is wearing a watch, not just any watch but –

“Is that a Rolex?” Fin asks and Sonny nods, dumbstruck.

Amanda pats his shoulder. “Now you have to admit that Barba is your sugar daddy.” Sonny shakes his head but Amanda nods. “Oh yes, the guy bought you a Rolex. He’s your sugar daddy, plain and simple.”

“I… I don’t know what to say,” Sonny says approaching the bear and stroking its soft, white fur.

“I’d go with 'thank you',” Mike suggests.

“I’d go with 'please marry me',” Fin laughs. “But you do you, Carisi.”

Sonny carefully detaches the watch from the bear and slides it onto his own wrist. He shakes his head. He knows Rafael has money, but they’d never been into extravagant presents – especially not like this. Sonny wasn’t with Rafael because of money or material things, and he’d always thought Rafael had known that.

There’s a note propped up against the bear and Sonny picks it up. Once again, it has his name carefully written on it, but this time it also has a number printed at the bottom of it. It looks like a phone number – with an area code from outside the city – and Sonny’s brow creases in confusion.

“Alright, enough standing about, I think you all have work to do,” Liv says and Sonny resolves to ask Rafael about the number when he comes by for lunch – maybe they’re going away from the weekend.

-

Sonny has almost forgotten about the note and the strange number by the time Rafael strolls into the precinct, a bag of takeout in one hand and a scowl on his face. Liv is already waiting for him and Sonny watches as Rafael drops the takeout on his desk and then stalks over to Liv.

“I’m sorry,” she says immediately. “We had to go into the apartment or we wouldn’t have been able to gather the evidence that led us to the perp.”

Rafael raises an eyebrow. “And the fact that you didn’t have a warrant and your probable cause was so ridiculous that I can’t use any of the evidence you found means nothing to you, I suppose?”

Liv sighs. “I’m sorry, but Rollins and Fin did what they thought was best at the time.”

“Well maybe Rollins and Fin shouldn’t think so much next time,” Rafael says cuttingly and Amanda flinches.

Sonny shakes his head, hiding a smile. Rafael is being harsh, but he’s also right and Sonny had told them at the time that the DA’s office wouldn’t be able to use anything from the apartment.

“How are you smiling right now?” Mike hisses at him, as Rafael continues to argue with Liv. “He looks ready to murder someone.”

Sonny laughs. “Nah, it’s all an act. It’s kinda cute actually.”

Mike gives him a look like he thinks Sonny is crazy and shakes his head. “You guys are fucking weird,” Mike mutters under his breath.

Sonny grins and turns back to Rafael, who is winding down from his tirade. “Hey, Rafi. What did you bring for lunch?”

Rafael pointedly turns his back on Liv and graces Sonny with a smirk that softens into something more sincere. “Noodles from that Thai place you like.”

“Thank you,” Sonny says as Rafael drags an unused chair over to Sonny’s desk.

He unpacks the food and Sonny scoots closer so that their knees are pressed against each other.

Rafael raises an eyebrow, a hand settling on Sonny’s thigh. “Everything okay, soleado?”

“Yeah,” Sonny says, nodding. “I just… thank you. I really appreciate it, but… okay don’t be mad. But it was a lot. Like the bear alone would have been enough, but the tie and then the watch? Rafi, I don’t need that from you.”

Rafael frowns. “What?”

“Rafi, I don’t need you to buy me expensive gifts. I love you so much, and it really isn’t because you have money or buy me things with that money,” Sonny insists, putting down his container of noodles to cover Rafael’s hand with one of his. “Although the bear really was cute.”

“Sonny,” Rafael says slowly. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Uh… You got me a teddy bear?” Sonny says as Rafael stares at him incredulously. “And a flower? And a tie – this tie! And… I mean... the Rolex, Rafi?”

He waves the watch in Rafael’s face and his boyfriend’s eyes widen more and more. Rafael catches Sonny’s arm and holds it still, staring at the watch.

“Sonny, I didn’t get you this. Or any of it. I mean, I got you something for Valentine’s Day, but it’s still a couple of days away so… What the hell is all this?” Rafael demands.

Sonny gapes. “I… this isn’t from you? None of it?”

Rafael shakes his head vehemently. “No! Did any of it say that it was from me?”

“Well… no,” Sonny admits. “The notes weren’t signed though, so who else would I have expected it to be from?”

Rafael sets his jaw. “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. Do you still have the cards?”

“Yeah, course,” Sonny says, pulling open his desk drawer and handing Rafael the notes that he’d carefully placed inside.

Rafael goes through them, noting Sonny’s name on the first two and then frowning at the number at the bottom of the third. “What number is this?”

Sonny shrugs. “I don’t know, I was going to ask you. I thought maybe it was the number for a hotel or something.”

“A hotel? Soleado, I love you but thank goodness you’re pretty,” Rafael mutters and Sonny blushes, but Rafael’s hand settling on his knee immediately after tells him that Rafael is more annoyed at the situation than at him.

Rafael dials the number, then puts his phone on speaker.

“Green Haven Correctional Facility, how may I help you?” a female voice comes from the phone and Rafael mashes the end-call button so hard, Sonny is surprised he doesn’t crack the screen.

Their eyes meet for a brief moment and then Rafael is stalking towards Liv’s office, leaving Sonny to hurry after him.

“Rafa?” Liv looks concerned when they barge into her office unannounced. “Is everything alright?”

“No,” Rafael says. “It’s not alright. Did you know about these presents?”

He waves Sonny’s wrist with the Rolex on it and Liv laughs. “Yeah, Rafa, we all did. You weren’t subtle leaving them in the middle of the bullpen.”

“They’re not from him,” Sonny cuts in before Rafael blows a gasket. “He had nothing to do with them. There was a number on one of the notes though, it was for Greenhaven.”

“The maximum-security prison?” Liv asks, taking off her glasses. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Rafael says. “Now what the fuck is going on here? Do you just let anyone into the precinct? What if there’s something dangerous in these presents?”

“I’ll get the desk sergeant up here,” Liv says. “Carisi, ask Rollins, Dodds, and Fin to join us?”

She picks up the phone and dials down to the desk sergeant and Sonny turns to go get the rest of the squad. Before he can leave, Rafael’s hand on his stops him.

“Rafi?” he asks quietly.

“Sonny, are you okay?” Rafael asks, eyes scrutinizing Sonny’s face. “This is… It’s strange and a lot and… I’m almost sorry they’re not from me now.”

Sonny shakes his head. “I’m fine Rafi, I just want to get this figured out. Besides, I told you I don’t need anything from you but… well, you.”

Rafael nods and squeezes Sonny’s hand before letting him go.

When Sonny returns to the office with the squad in tow, Rafael is sitting in one of the chairs in front of Liv’s desk. Sonny takes the other chair only because it seems like Rafael wants him to.

“The desk sergeant is on her way up and TARU and CSU are going to take a look at the gifts,” Liv says and then fills in the others on what they know.

Sonny carefully and quietly slips the watch off his wrist and starts to loosen his tie. Before he can get the knot undone, Rafael is batting his hands away and untying it for him, pulling the tie out from under his collar.

“Thanks,” Sonny says, watching as Rafael balls the silk up and drops it onto Liv’s desk.

Rafael nods, then starts to undo his own tie, loosening it just enough so that he can slide it over his collar and head. Then he undoes the knot and wraps it around Sonny’s neck, tying an impeccable knot and smoothing Sonny’s collar down over the tie.

Sonny blushes and avoids looking at Amanda who is ignoring Liv’s briefing to smirk at him. Thankfully the desk sergeant arrives before she can say anything.

“Sergeant Langdon,” Liv greets her. “Thank you for coming up. We just have a couple of questions.”

Sergeant Langdon nods, straightening her uniform self-consciously. “Of course, Lieutenant.”

“You know Detective Carisi, right?” Liv asks and Langdon nods. “Have there been any deliveries for him over the last couple of days?”

Langdon shakes her head. “No, ma’am.”

Liv frowns but doesn’t look put out. “Any deliveries at all for SVU? They’d have been small yesterday and today… it was a large stuffed animal.”

Again, Langdon shakes her head. “No, Lieutenant, no deliveries at all like that. But…”

It feels like everyone holds their breath, waiting for Langdon to continue. Next to Sonny, Rafael is tapping his fingers arhythmically against his leg and Sonny briefly reaches out to cover them with his hand.

“Well, this morning I saw Officer Reid with a stuffed bear,” Langdon says. “Pretty big. And the other day he was carrying a rose.”

“Officer Reid?” Rafael asks, turning to Sonny. “Do you know him?”

Sonny shakes his head. “In passing, I guess? I think we’ve maybe said hello to each other once or twice.”

Liv looks at Mike and Amanda. “Rollins, Dodds, go give the tie and watch to the CSU agents and then get Officer Reid. Now. Thank you, Sergeant Langdon, you can go. You’ve been a big help.”

Langdon nods, flashing them all a confused smile, and walks out of the office with Amanda and Mike, who gathers up Sonny’s gifts on the way out.

“Damn, Carisi,” Fin says. “You couldn’t have just convinced Barba to be your sugar daddy?”

Sonny huffs a laugh even as Rafael shoots Fin a death glare.

“Soleado, I’ll buy you all the Rolexes you want as long as we’re never in this situation again because it’s intensely creepy and I thought you knew better than to accept presents from strangers,” Rafael says and Sonny laughs properly this time.

“Sure,” he says. “I’ll keep that in mind Mr-I’ve-been-getting-death-threats-but-decided-not-to-tell-anyone.”

Rafael rolls his eyes and Sonny grins when Liv shoots Rafael a look that clearly says she agrees with Sonny. Despite the levity, Sonny finds himself becoming nervous as they wait for Amanda and Mike to find Officer Reid. The whole situation could be harmless, a simple case of a secret admirer. But the expense that was gone to and the number at the bottom of the page hint at something more than that.

He reaches for Rafael’s hand, nervous about the display of public affection, but needing his support nonetheless. Rafael doesn’t hesitate, taking Sonny’s hand in his and intertwining their fingers, settling their joined hands on his knee. Sonny flashes Rafael a tense smile and he rubs his thumb over Sonny’s.

There’s a sound from outside the office and then Amanda is sticking her head in through the open door.

“Mike put Officer Reid in the interview room. The guys started talking immediately and you’re going to want to hear this,” she says.

Almost in unison, Liv, Fin, Sonny, and Rafael go over to the window looking in on the interview room, through which they can see Amanda joining Mike and Officer Reid.

“Now, officer,” Mike says, leaning on the table so he’s right up in Reid’s face. “Tell us again. Were you the one who brought the presents in for Detective Carisi?”

“Yes,” Officer Reid says. His voice is quiet and he keeps his eyes downcast as if he’s ashamed.

Rafael hasn’t let go of Sonny’s hand and he squeezes it reassuringly when Sonny sucks in a sharp breath.

“Did you buy the gifts too?” Mike asks and Reid nods.

“Yes,” he says again. “I bought them.”

Amanda steps forward, arms crossed. “Where did you get the money, officer? We all know how much someone like you makes. You can’t afford a Rolex.”

Reid sniffs and Sonny almost feels bad for him. “He sent me the money. For the gifts. And extra to deliver them to Detective Carisi.”

“Who?” Amanda demands and Reid flinches. “Who paid you to do this?”

“Rudnick,” Reid confesses. “Carl Rudnick. He’s in prison with my brother, he said he’d hurt him if I didn’t.”

Sonny blinks, trying to make sense of what he’s just heard. Beside him, Rafael has a death-grip on his hand and looks about ready to start convincing judges that someone deserves the death penalty.

“Rudnick?” Fin asks. “That crack-pot? What does he want with Carisi?”

Sonny shakes his head. “I don’t know. I mean, he was always nice to me. I treated him respectfully during the whole… manhunt thing with Yates. But this –“

“Lieutenant Benson?” a new voice asks and they turn to see a CSU tech in the office doorway.

Liv steps forward. “Did you find anything?”

The tech nods. “Yeah, there was a camera and a microphone in the bear and a tracker sewn into the tie. The watch was clean as far as we could tell.”

“Jesus,” Rafael exclaims. “He had the stuff bugged?”

“It seems that way,” the tech says, looking uncomfortable at the scrutiny he’s facing.

“Thank you,” Liv says and the tech smiles before scurrying away. “Carisi, I think you should go home.”

Sonny frowns. “What? Why? I should be working on this case.”

Liv raises an eyebrow. “You aren’t allowed to work a case if you’re the victim, Carisi. I’ll have Rollins and Fin go up to Green Haven to talk to Rudnick, and Dodds can figure out if anyone else was involved. You can go home and rest up because this has been a difficult experience for you and you shouldn’t have to be at work right now.” Sonny opens his mouth to argue, but Liv shakes her head. “This isn’t a debate, Carisi. Home, now.”

Sonny’s shoulders slump and he nods. “Okay, lieu.”

Liv nods. “Good, I’ll see you tomorrow, Carisi. I’ll keep you updated, alright?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Sonny says.

“Talk to you later, Liv,” Rafael says and then he’s tugging on Sonny’s hand and leading him out of the office.

He waits while Sonny collects his stuff and once they’re both bundled in their jackets, they head for the elevator. Rafael is already organizing an Uber by the time the lift doors close and once he’s booked their car, he puts his phone away and drags Sonny into a hug.

“I’m sorry,” Sonny says into Rafael’s hair. “I should’ve known – or said something sooner. I’m such an idiot.”

“No, absolutely not,” Rafael says, pulling away. “You are not going to blame yourself for some crazy serial-killer becoming obsessed with you and sending you gifts with… cameras in them. Should you have brought up the presents earlier? Maybe, but we’ve hardly seen each other and it’s not unreasonable for you to expect me to get you something for Valentine’s Day. The Rolex was maybe a sign that something was up, but if you want me to get you an expensive watch, I’ll get you one.”

The doors open on the ground floor and Sonny takes Rafael’s hand again as they walk out of the precinct.

“I don’t want you to buy me a watch,” Sonny says as they step outside and wait for their car. “Honestly, I did think something was going on when I got it, I just… Well, I was waiting to talk to you in person.”

“Which is completely fine,” Rafael assures him. “Sonny, none of this is your fault. It’s a weird situation but Liv will sort it out. The guy is in prison and we’ll get a restraining order and tell the doorman at our apartment not to let any deliveries up unless we’re expecting them, alright?”

Sonny nods, leaning into Rafael who lets go of his hand to wrap an arm around his waist.

“It’ll be alright, Sonny, I promise.”

-

Sonny is mostly asleep, his head in Rafael’s lap and some mindless reality show about people working on yachts droning in the background when his phone rings. He makes to get up, but Rafael pushes him back down, grabbing the phone himself and answering with a curt ‘Detective Carisi’s phone’, before putting it on speaker.

“Sonny, it’s Amanda,” the voice comes from the phone. “So we spoke to Rudnick. He denied the whole thing at first, but eventually, he came clean. He said he only bugged the gifts because… he wanted to see you like you’d seen him? I have no idea what the hell that means, but he had a tablet to watch the camera feed from the bear and everything. He kept rambling about how you saved him from Yates and how he always knew you two had a connection. He also said the gifts were his way of showing his affection and that he hoped you liked them. I told him where he could shove the gifts.”

Sonny shudders and Rafael curls a protective hand over his waist. “Wow that’s… a lot,” he says and he hears Amanda snort.

“Yeah. Man’s crazier than a basket of frogs, but he seemed sane enough to understand what a restraining order is and the ramifications of breaking one,” she says. “The warden won’t let him call you or anyone at the precinct from the prison and Liv is having the accounts he used to pay Reid frozen, so he shouldn’t be able to contact you again.”

“Thanks, Amanda,” Sonny sighs, already feeling a little bit of relief at the thought of his colleagues and friends doing so much to keep Rudnick away from him. “It means a lot that you and Fin went up there.”

“It’s our job, Sonny,” Amanda says. “And you’re our friend. I’d hogtie the guy and castrate him if you wanted.”

Rafael makes a considering noise and Sonny grins at him. “Thanks, maybe leave off on the assault for now though. Apart from how creepy it was, I guess it was pretty harmless.”

“Excuse me?” Rafael asks at the same time as Amanda yells “Are you kidding?”

Sonny covers his face and shrugs. “It’s true, it could have been worse.”

“Dios mio. Estoy enamorado de un idiota,” Rafael mutters above him and by the sound coming from his phone, Amanda has hung up.

“You know, Rafi, I’m not that bad at Spanish. I know what you said,” Sonny says, uncovering his face and smiling sheepishly.

“That doesn’t make you any less of an idiot,” Rafael says snippily although his expression is soft and his hand is rubbing Sonny’s waist comfortingly. “But mainly, you’re just too kind, too good for your job – for the world really.”

Sonny frowns. “I thought you were going to say naïve.”

Rafael shakes his head, smoothing the frown off Sonny’s forehead with his free hand. “No, you’re not naïve, or gullible. You just see the best in people, even when maybe you shouldn’t.”

His expression as he looks down at Sonny is achingly tender and Sonny almost can’t bear it.

“You know the squad all think you’re scary,” he says abruptly and Rafael blinks.

He tilts his head then smirks. “Well, I’m not going to pretend I don’t like that they feel that way. Maybe they won’t annoy me as much then.”

Sonny smiles. “You know, I told Mike when you get all angry that it’s kind of cute, but he didn’t believe me.”

“That’s probably a good thing,” Rafael says.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” Rafael nods. “Because I don’t need more than one detective interested in me. One is quite enough.”

“I should hope so,” Sonny says indignantly and Rafael grins, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

“Oh you are,” Rafael assures him. “Now be good, stop being nice to serial killers, and maybe you’ll actually get your present on Valentine’s Day.”

Sonny raises his eyebrows. “You really got me something?”

Rafael nods. “Oh, of course, soleado. But you’ll just have to wait until Sunday to find out what it is.”

Sonny pouts but settles his head more comfortably onto Rafael’s lap. “Fine, but it better be good – I want a Rolex or nothing.”

Rafael laughs. “You’re a brat, mi amor. But I’ve got something that will top it, don’t worry.”

-

As it turns out, a ring does beat a Rolex – there’s no competition – especially when Rafael is the one giving it to him.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you liked this, it was ofc inspired by cityofflights amazing fic ['keeping secrets (just to keep you)'](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29293566) and my impression that rudnick always had a thing for sonny
> 
> kudos/comments are love, or you can say hi on tumblr ([@hefellfordean](https://hefellfordean.tumblr.com)) or twitter ([@angstypalermo](https://twitter.com/angstypalermo)) if you like


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